“FAU is honored to have our beautiful campus serve as the setting for Stand Among Friends’ emb(race),” said FAU President Mary Jane Saunders, honorary chair of the event. “We are inspired by the enthusiasm and support the community has shown for this important cause.I invite our friends from Boca Raton and surrounding cities to come out and experience the true meaning of celebrating different abilities.”

The event will feature a 5K, 10K and one-mile family walk and is open to people of all ages and abilities. Whether participants run, walk, stroll, roll, use a wheelchair or hand cycle, anyone is welcome to enter. There will be games for children, live music, food, prizes, raffles, awards and many other fun activities. More than 1,200 people witnessed almost 800 entrants participate in the 2011 inaugural event.

“We’re excited to present our second annual all-inclusive race,” said Shawn Friedkin, founder and president of SAF. “It’s a great time for families and friends to join together with the community and experience living life without boundaries.”

Friedkin founded SAF in 1997 to enhance the lives of people with disabilities by promoting opportunities for them to live without limits and experience the highest degree of independence and success in their communities. SAF helps people realize and achieve their career aspirations and widen their social opportunities so they may experience a meaningful life, both personally and professionally. In 2006, SAF opened The Disability Center, a designated Center of Excellence within the State of Florida university system, on FAU’s Boca Raton campus in the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing building.

Current SAF programs include Employment for People with Disabilities, Disability Sensitivity, Assistive Technology Center & Off-site Demonstrations, Vocational Evaluation and American Sign Language. These programs help individuals transition to greater independence by teaching work, technology and social skills while emphasizing each person’s talents, interests and education.

Under a grant from the Able Trust, SAF works with FAU’s Office for Students with Disabilities to provide job placement services for graduating seniors who have disabilities by helping them prepare for, find and maintain employment. Through the Employment for People with Disabilities program, SAF provides a full complement of employment and career services for students and adults with disabilities. The organization delivers direct services to more than 600 people annually, and in recent years has placed more than 500 people into productive employment commensurate with their education and experience.

About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University serves more than 29,000 undergraduate and graduate students on seven campuses and sites. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.